I haven't yet, but kinda want to try a set in my next seven. What I've been told is that Dimarzios tend to sound more "modern" while Duncans sound more organic- can anyone back this up?

Of course, it depends tremendously on the models we're talking about... But I've heard that a Jazz neck and JB bridge is a pretty good match to te Dimarzio Air Norton neck and Tone Zone bridge that a lot of guys favor; similar sound, but with more od a Duncan flavor.

-D

"...and everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon."

I just bought a guitar off of Ebay, and was asking this same question last week. You guys gave me some great advice, and after playing the guitar, I concur and I'll repeat it here.

Duncan Designed pickups are not very good. The ones I have in my new ESP 7-string are very dull sounding. This guitar, which I've set up to be almost identical to my other guitars, has a much duller, less crisp sound, and it's mainly because of the pickups. I'm having new pickups put in this week, and I would strongly advise going with some high-end DiMarzio, or Seymour Duncan pickups. You might want to check out EMG pickups as well. They're not really my thing, but active pickups may suit you if you're going for a super-heavy sound.

My recommendations:

Bridge pickup:

DiMarzio Evolution
DiMarzio Tone Zone
Seymour Duncan JB trembucker
Seymour Duncan BS trembucker (some wicked cool pole pieces and a fat, old-school sound, I have one of these in an old Ibanez, it's a perfect pickup for a de-tuned sound)

I've had Duncan Distortions in a couple of my 7-strings, and they rocked. Nice lush sound with lots of 'chunka-chunka'--but not too hot like an Invader. I greatly prefer the Distortion over the JB for playing metal--but that's just me.

I've never cared for the Duncan Design pickups. They don't really sound like Duncans to my ears.

I have a JB-7 and a '59-7 in my 7-string, and they rock. The '59 can be a bit overwhelming at times... if i were to buy again, i think i'd maybe opt for the Jazz in the neck position. But the '59+JB setup rocks. The JB has insane bite and harmonics, and the '59 just roars. Both also sound great played clean, and get some nice twang going when split or switched to parallel mode.

I have a JB-7 and a '59-7 in my 7-string, and they rock. The '59 can be a bit overwhelming at times... if i were to buy again, i think i'd maybe opt for the Jazz in the neck position. But the '59+JB setup rocks. The JB has insane bite and harmonics, and the '59 just roars. Both also sound great played clean, and get some nice twang going when split or switched to parallel mode.

How'd the Distortion for lead? Also, Darren, your Evo's a mahogany guitar, right? Have you heard them in basswood? I'm kinda curious to check a Jazz/JB set out myself, as it's supposed to match up fairly well to a Air Norton/Tone Zone setup,b ut a bit more, well... Organic, maybe... Thoughts?

-D

"...and everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon."

Awesome. Very full-sounding with lots of harmonics anywhere you want them. Maybe not as 'crisp' as a JB, but certainly not muddy in my experience.

Now that I have nothing but basswood Ibanezs, I've switched to DiMarzios, but in any neckthru guitar you can't go wrong with a Distortion in the bridge. The Distortion fattens up a neckthru very nicely but doesn't get rid of too much clarity. I wouldn't use a Distortion in a mahogany guitar, though--that probably would be muddy sounding.

Hahaha, well, often that isnt the best way to get a death metal sound, especially in a band context.

But, through my new amp (IIC+) I've found myself turning the mids to virtually zero for the first time. Even with the mids dialed out its still grindy as ...., so im looking to replace my Evo with a less mid-dominated pickup. I've been thinking of going with the Lundgren Meshuggah signature pickup, the Duncan JB, and the Anderson H2+.